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Pacers Camp: Day One (Wells)

–The starters picked up where they left off last season. It was like they played Game 6 against Miami two days ago. That’s how well they clicked together on the court. And before you say Miami beat the Pacers in that game, just know the Pacers outscored the Heat by 58 in the series when they had all five starters on the court together.

–Lance Stephenson definitely worked on his jump shot during the offseason. He’s shooting it with a lot more confidence instead of pounding the ball into the ground trying to beat his man off the dribble.

–George Hill is looking to assert himself even more on offense. He made sure everybody was involved in the offense, but he also picked his spots to be aggressive.

–Gerald Green is more than a leaper. He’s got a nice looking jump shot. Expect him to be the focal point of the offense with the second unit.

–Speaking of the second unit, D.J. Augustin will make sure the offense runs smooth in the second unit. He was thinking pass first when they scrimmaged in the halfcourt. Augustin started 142 of the 282 games he played with the Charlotte Bobcats.

–I’d be shocked if Sam Young didn’t make the roster. Coach Frank Vogel put Young with the starters when they shut Danny Granger down for the final hour or so of practice to rest his left knee. The main reason Vogel put Young with the starters is because he wants the second unit – Augustin, Green, Lance Stephenson, Tyler Hansbrough and Ian Mahinmi – to play together as much as possible. Still, the Pacers like Young’s toughness.

–Pacers PR ace David Benner made sure to point out that he didn’t see Blake Ahearn miss a shot during a workout last week. It’s not often that I agree with my guy Benner, who I must say is one of the best in the league at his job, but he was right. I only saw Ahearn miss two shots during the morning and evening practice sessions. He’s competing with Sundiata Gaines to be the third point guard on the roster.

–Vogel did a lot of talk about “what playoff teams” do when they were going through different drills. Tuesday was just the start. He’ll remind his team that throughout the entire season.

–The Pacers will practice twice Wednesday, once Thursday, twice Friday and likely only once Saturday.

Re: Pacers Camp: Day One (Wells)

The Pacer's have an excellent starting unit that should be even better this year. That is no secret. Augustin running the offense and not looking to score is good news. He is a miserable shooter (except oddly enough he does hit the 3 at a half decent clip). I am trusting that the Pacers made good acquisitions for the bench. If so, they are going to seriously challenge for the Central Division title. And have a shot at dethroning the Heat, maybe a long shot, but a shot.

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Re: Pacers Camp: Day One (Wells)

Im loving this. Team is focused and no longer fooling around. Vogel has also changed in a great way.
He was more of a fan his first year in a half. Team is hungry and wants more success. Something I
want from my team. Team knows what it has to do to get it done.

Re: Pacers Camp: Day One (Wells)

If the second team consists of DJ,Lance,Green,Tyler and Manhimi, isn't it a bit weak defensively?I'm talking especially about the 2 guards and Tyler.That's on paper of course and if he plans to have that team coming off the bench.

If the second team consists of DJ,Lance,Green,Tyler and Manhimi, isn't it a bit weak defensively?I'm talking especially about the 2 guards and Tyler.That's on paper of course and if he plans to have that team coming off the bench.

Yes, it is.

One way to instantly fix that is to replace Lance with Sam Young who is a very good perimeter defender.

Re: Pacers Camp: Day One (Wells)

More from Wells, for what it's worth.

What I’ve like about Green so far – other than his dunks – is his outside shot. The same goes for Stephenson. He’s shooting the ball like he knows he’s going to make it. He’s also playing under control.

Re: Pacers Camp: Day One (Wells)

If the second team consists of DJ,Lance,Green,Tyler and Manhimi, isn't it a bit weak defensively?I'm talking especially about the 2 guards and Tyler.That's on paper of course and if he plans to have that team coming off the bench.

Mahinmi is the only one who can play good defense and he easily picks up fouls... I don't believe our bench will look the same at the end of the season

Former team president Larry Bird had decided to take him with the 11th pick, but Charlotte intercepted him at No. 9. Augustin's agent had told him when the eighth selection came up that he was going to the Pacers. The tap on the shoulder from Charlotte president Michael Jordan came as a shock, because the Bobcats had not worked him out before the draft.

Hansbrough is said to have sharpened his skills, adding a left hand to his offensive game.

I thought we were done talking about the second unit until at least the first preseason game next season.

Coach Frank Vogel changed my thought process after practice today.

Vogel, unsolicited, couldn’t stop gushing about Gerald Green and Lance Stephenson playing together with the second unit.

Vogel raved about the duo’s athleticism and their ability to get to the basket in the open court. He feels very confident that they won’t have a problem scoring with those two in the game.

I got an up close look at Green’s athleticism during practice Tuesday when he snuck along the baseline and caught an oop from D.J. Augustin for a dunk. It was like Green, a former dunk champion, paused in the air to wait for the ball to catch up to him before dunking it in.

What I’ve like about Green so far – other than his dunks – is his outside shot. The same goes for Stephenson. He’s shooting the ball like he knows he’s going to make it. He’s also playing under control.
Of course this is only practice. But if the past few days have been any indication, you won’t have anything to worry about offensively with the bench.

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Re: Pacers Camp: Day One (Wells)

Actually, it was the opposite; I had read his blog and that drove me to consider that the bench probably isn't going to be good defensively, but they might have the relative amount of firepower needed to answer with more buckets if/when the opposing team scores on them. They just need to break even when they're out there; our starters will be responsible for building leads.

Re: Pacers Camp: Day One (Wells)

One upside to our bench trying to run with other teams is that those teams will be expending more energy. So if they try to use their starters against our bench our starters can rejoin the game fresh going against tired legs

Re: Pacers Camp: Day One (Wells)

Actually, it was the opposite; I had read his blog and that drove me to consider that the bench probably isn't going to be good defensively, but they might have the relative amount of firepower needed to answer with more buckets if/when the opposing team scores on them. They just need to break even when they're out there; our starters will be responsible for building leads.

And I'm ok with that. Completely ok. Last season the second unit defense was shaky, but they couldn't score at all! If the Pacers have the lead, bench comes in and matches point for point, I'd call that a victory over what we saw last season.

Hopefully other teams benches won't be as solid, so they won't be able to score as well as our bench.

Re: Pacers Camp: Day One (Wells)

I really think Gerald Green is going to be our reliable perimeter assassin.

Gotta say, I'm really curious to see what he can do with our team. Excited might be a better word, as I saw more than a few Nets games this past season (fantasy purposes and all, don't bash me) and he really stepped up and improved his game. Everyone and his mother know he's a high flying, uber athletic dude, but he has developed a smooth jump shot...ok, nothing Ray Allen-esque, but that's a rare combination you look for in a starter, and we can say we have it coming off the bench.

Assuming he keeps it up, and that would be very important because his bench scoring is absolutely needed, it's gonna be an interesting spot to keep an eye on, indeed.

After the opener here in my country, I can't wait for NBA preseason. Yeah, I'm that basketball doped

Re: Pacers Camp: Day One (Wells)

My hope is that the second unit gives good effort on defense, even if it isn't particularly good on defense. I think that for the Pacers to be a good defensive team (and they need to be a good defensive team), everyone who plays needs to give good effort on defense.